The Refugee Council has called for an immediate halt to the policy of housing asylum-seekers in prison.

The Prison Service said mandatory physical and mental health checks were carried out on the protesters over the weekend, and there were no concerns for the health of detainees.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "One of the detainees came off food refusal yesterday morning.

"The others are still refusing prison food. Health checks have given no cause for concern and all the asylum-seekers have been taking part in all regime activities.

"Wing staff are keeping a close eye on them," she said.

The Prison Service denies that the asylum-seekers are on hunger strike, saying they are on "food refusal".

The spokeswoman said: "They are refusing food brought to them but they have access to food from the prison shop and are drinking liquids.

"All of them have filled in canteen slips which can be used for anything from food to toiletries."

About 50 asylum-seekers of 19 different nationalities housed in the adult prison.

The Government committed itself to removing refugees in Cardiff by the end of the year.

The Prison Service originally said there were 32 asylum-seekers refusing prison food but said it now believed that the number was 30.

About 500 asylum-seekers are being held in prisons across the country as part of a policy which began in December 2000.

The detention of asylum-seekers in the Victorian jail in Cardiff has come under fire from all political parties in the Welsh Assembly.

Refugee Council deputy chief executive Margaret Lally described the hunger strike as a "desperate measure" and added: "We call upon the Government to bring an immediate end to the grossly unjust process of detaining asylum-seekers in prisons.

"Asylum-seekers are being forced into prison regimes when they have neither committed nor even been accused of a crime.

"Often they are locked up for 23 hours a day, not given written reasons for their detention and are not told the length of time they will have to spend in prison.

"Many of the processes, such as handcuffing in public and denial of fresh air are both inhumane and degrading to people who have fled unjust imprisonment, torture and prosecution," she said.

Last month, asylum-seekers at Liverpool jail refused food in protest at their detention.

Last year two Iranians at Rochester jail, Kent, were admitted to hospital for emergency treatment after having refused food for more than 30 days to protest against deportation.